Soon after Holly Lanes co-owner Brian Aubuchon, 35, got the call that his newly reopened bowling alley was ransacked, he arrived to find  among other things  security video of two thieves who tripped over chairs and left a candy trail to their truck."They just totally destroyed the place, but they were not master thieves by any stretch of the imagination," Aubuchon said. "The video provided some much-needed comic relief."Aubuchon and co-owner Derrick DeMeritt, 36, are taking the break-in in stride. About 40 bottles of liquor, five flat screen televisions, $700 in candy, and an undisclosed amount of cash from a safe was taken from the bowling alley.A mechanic came to Holly Lanes, located on Grange Hall Road near Duck Lake Road, at around 7 a.m., and quickly called the Michigan State Police and the owners when he saw the vending machines busted open, glass smashed on the bar floor and a trail of candy everywhere  even outside the building to their black colored truck. Troopers were at the establishment within 10 minutes, and had begun to inspect the building."This morning was rough, but it's just one of those things where you can't do anything," Aubuchon said.
The suspects  both white men who appeared to be in their mid-20s  got into the business from the roof, through an adjoined apartment. Once inside, video showed, the pair began pillaging food machines, unhinging electronic appliances and smashing glass."They were here for an hour," said Aubuchon. "About $40,000-plus was lost in total."Later, while State Troopers from the Flint post were finishing up with their initial investigation  they recovered fingerprints and DNA from the crime scene, the owners said  Aubuchon and DeMeritt watched the security video."One of the guys was trying to open the Pepsi machine with a crowbar, slipped and hit the other guy in the head with it  you just see the other guy start staggering," DeMeritt added, acting out the suspect swaying back and forth. "That's a little bit of karma for you."Aubuchon and DeMeritt bought Holly Lanes in October 2011, and had been remodeling since, renovating bathrooms, making small improvements, and investing about $200,000.Said DeMeritt: "There was a lot of sweat equity put into this place. We did our own renovations for a while."Aubuchon: "We bought a depressed company, and tried to build it up for the community. This is a little discouraging. We literally just remodeled the bathrooms  my dad even helped  and we put a lot of time into them."The lanes had only been reopened since Labor Day. Several renovations were undertaken during the summer months, the owners said.What's more, Holly Lanes is set to host a benefit for cancer research Oct. 19 called "Strike Out Cancer," partnered with McLaren Health System and Reel Recovery.The break-in may hinder the alley's business for a few days, but "we will not let this set us back," said DeMeritt. "We've got a lot of the community and our families behind us, and that helps tremendously."DeMeritt said as young entrepreneurs, he and Aubuchon have learned to come out of tough times."It's just a matter of finding a way to stay afloat," he said. "There will be low times, but we're lucky to have a great staff who have helped us since we bought the place, and feel they have much vested in this as we do."
Michigan State Police are still investigating the break-in. Anyone with information about the break-in is asked to call troopers at 810-733-9380.

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About the Author

John Turk covers the police beat and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners for The Oakland Press. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University. Reach the author at john.turk@oakpress.com
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